Will Pathaan be Shah Rukh Khan's Mission Impossible?

To many in the Indian film industry, the situation of the 57-year-old superstar Shah Rukh Khan seems incompatible with a major comeback. Even as his latest outing after a gap of four long years with Pathaan is heating up to a huge release, there is the lingering question — will he, won’t he? There has been mammoth anticipation, no stones unturned in international marketing as well as wild controversies surrounding Pathaan’s trailer and songs. An almost coming to life of Shah Rukh’s words from the teaser — “Mausam bigadne wala hai” (The weather is about to deteriorate).

From his eight pack abs to Deepika Padukone’s saffron bikini to ministers, saints and even the Indian Censor board seem to be rattled by the film. Yet, everything proves a simple fact: no one in Bollywood still commands more attention than ‘King Khan’. Everything about Pathaan is a primetime headline. From experience, the controversies surrounding a film do help the trailer and songs gather millions of views but it can go either way at the box office. Sometimes a controversy can help a film become a success like Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat or it can completely ruin a film like Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha.

Too much is riding on Pathaan with many critics finding SRK appearing to be ‘trying too hard’, while fans celebrate his ‘reinvention’ as an action hero. The thought takes me back to an evening a few years ago when I interviewed the superstar before the release of his film Raees. I asked him that after playing the ‘King of Romance’ for almost two decades, is he now planning to ‘reinvent’ himself? He smiled and replied that he doesn’t believe in terms like ‘image change’ or ‘reinvention’. He said, “If you go back (to my career), I have always attempted big ideas. Some of them were much ahead of their time. Some worked, some did not. People always remember the ones that worked. But you move on… to bigger stories.”

Was Shah Rukh being true to himself in this introspective assessment?

Shah Rukh rose to stardom with Baazigar (1993), a role rejected by many before him because the protagonist was a murderous anti-hero. He took the negative image further as an obsessive lover in Darr (1993). Then he flipped these unconventional roles on their heads to play the clean-cut, cute-looking guy-next-door in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995). He became the ultimate romantic intergenerational fantasy of the nation with many blockbusters to his name. But even at his peak, he attempted films on different ideas within the mainstream arena — Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000) on media rivalry, Paheli (2005) on feminist choices, Asoka (2001), a visually brilliant period drama two decades before audiences raved about Baahubali, the memorable performance as an NRI pining for his homeland in Swades (2004), superhero with home-grown VFX meeting international standards in Ra.One (2011), he took on Islamophobia in My Name is Khan (2010) and Chak De India (2007). However, only a few of these were truly successful on the scale that had come to be expected of the superstar through romantic films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003), Om Shanti Om (2007).

Shah Rukh’s last major success Chennai Express (2013) was a decade ago where he played his regular ‘Rahul’. Ever since, audiences seem to be rejecting even his routine romantic roles. Rohit Shetty’s Dilwale (2015) didn’t work. Shah Rukh then walked an unfamiliar terrain in Fan (2016), which was about an ageing superstar’s confrontation with an obsessive fan. But SRK’s brave performance in Fan (2016) was abandoned by his real fans. Raees (2017) was forgettable too but the real shocker was Imtiaz Ali’s Jab Harry Met Sejal (2017). It bombed badly despite the superstar’s trademark romantic role and a fabulous soundtrack. The downslide didn’t stop. His next was an ambitious Zero (2018) where the larger-than-life SRK played a dwarf. It was a resounding flop. The magnitude of the failure of this ‘big idea’ perhaps rattled Shah Rukh so much that he stepped away for a long sabbatical of four years.

Usman is film commentator and author